The Keyboard Manager

Introduction to the Keyboard Manager

You use the Keyboard Manager to control the assignment of keystrokes to JAWS screen reading activities. The Keyboard Manager stores keystroke assignments in key map files with the extension of .jkm.

There are two types of key map files:

Default
Application

The default key map file contains the keystroke assignments for the default scripts. Application key map files contain keystroke assignments for scripts in an application script file. JAWS stores key map files in the JAWS settings directory.

Starting the Keyboard Manager

When running an application, press JAWSKEY + F2 to open the Run JAWS Manager dialog, followed by K, and ENTER. When you start the Keyboard Manager from within an application, the Keyboard Manager automatically opens the key map file for that application, if one exists. Otherwise, the Keyboard Manager opens the default key map file, default.jkm. When you start the Keyboard Manager from the Utilities menu within the JAWS interface, the default key map file is opened.

Using the Keyboard Manager

As will be seen later, you usually assign keystrokes to scripts at the time you create the script using the Script Manager. You can use the Keyboard Manager to browse and change current keystroke assignments, as well as add and delete keystroke assignments.

The Keyboard Manager has a similar screen layout to Windows Explorer. It consists of two panes.

Left pane
Right pane

The left pane contains a list of all current application specific and the default key map files in alphabetic order. The right pane contains a list of scripts in the script file associated with the current key map file.

The list is organized in four columns:

Script name
Keystroke
Key map file name
Key map section

Use the ARROW KEYS to select one of the key map files in the left pane and then TAB to the right pane and use the ARROW KEYS to select a specific script. You can add a keystroke assignment to the laptop, desktop, Kinesis keyboard layout or all keyboard layouts. When you add keystrokes to a specific keyboard layout, the keystroke assignment does not appear when the keyboard layout is changed. When you do not assign a keystroke to a specific keyboard layout, then the Keyboard Manager displays "common" in the key map section column.

::: {#add-change-or-delete-a-keystroke}

Add, Change, or Delete a Keystroke

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After you locate the proper script, use the Action menu to Add, Change, or Remove the keystroke assigned to this script.

Changing keystroke assignments is not recommended unless you have given careful consideration to the keystroke assignment being changed. Instead of changing an existing keystroke assignment, you can add a new assignment using the Action menu. When you add a keystroke, the Keyboard Manager does not replace the existing keystroke assignment. Rather, an additional keystroke assignment for the same script is created. If more than one keystroke is assigned to a script, the script is listed once for each keystroke in the key map file.

Deleting a keystroke assignment from the key map file does not delete the script it is assigned to. Only the keystroke assignment is deleted.

::: {#find-a-keystroke}

Find a Keystroke

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To search for a specific keystroke in the current key map file, move to the Scripts List in the right pane, choose Find Keystroke from the Action menu, press the keystroke you wish to find, and press ENTER. If the keystroke exists, the Keyboard Manager selects the script name assigned to this keystroke. If the Keyboard Manager does not find the keystroke, then the Keystroke Not found dialog is displayed.

::: {#review-documentation-for-a-keystroke}

Review Documentation for a Keystroke

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When assigning a keystroke to a script, it is often useful to browse the script documentation first. The script documentation consists of the Synopsis (brief description of the script's purpose) and the Description (additional information about the script). You can view the documentation for the current script by choosing Documentation from the Action menu or by pressing ENTER while the script name in the list is selected.

::: {#changing-keyboard-manager-options}

Changing Keyboard Manager Options

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There are five groups of optional settings that change how the Keyboard Manager displays its information. All of these options are contained in one multi-page dialog. Choose any of the five groups from the Options menu to open that page of the Options multi-page dialog. Once you open the dialog, you can move to each page by pressing CONTROL + TAB.

The Options multi page dialog contains the following pages:

Key Filter
Sort
Hot key
Messages
File Filter

Use the Key Filter page of the Options multi-page dialog to decide which key assignments and scripts to display in the scripts list. Use the Sort page of the Options Multi-page dialog to decide which column of the script list the Keyboard Manager uses to sort the list. Use the Hot Key page of the Options multi-page dialog to choose keys you can use in a hot key edit box. Use the Messages page of the Options multi-page dialog to choose messages used by the Keyboard Manager. Use the File Filter page to decide where the Keyboard Manager should look for key map files to display.

::: {#key-filter-options}

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The Keyboard Manager has two key filter settings:

Key Assignments
Scripts

Each filter option has three radio buttons.

All
Active
Application

::: {#key-assignments-group}

Key Assignments Group

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Option Description All Displays all keystroke assignments in both the current key map file and the default key map file. Active Displays only active keystroke assignments in both the current key map file and the default key map file. If a keystroke is assigned in both the application and default key map files, only the application keystroke is active as JAWS always acts on the first keystroke it finds and it looks in the application key map file first. This setting filters out duplicate keystrokes in the default key map file. Application Displays only key assignments in the current key map file.

: Key Assignments Group

::: {#scripts-group}

Scripts Group

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Option Description All Displays all scripts. Assigned to Keys Displays only scripts assigned to keystrokes. Unassigned Displays only scripts not assigned to keystrokes.

: Script Groups

::: {#sort-options}

Sort Options

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The Sort page has four radio buttons that allow you to sort the key map file by a specific column.

Script Name
Keystroke
Key Map File
Key Map Section

Choose the radio button that corresponds to the column you would like to use as the sort column for the Scripts List in the right pane.

::: {#hot-key-options}

Hot Key Options

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The Keyboard Manager has four checkboxes on the Hot Keys page of the Options multi-page dialog that correspond to: TAB, SHIFT + TAB, ENTER, and ESCAPE. Check each one you want to use as a hot key. These keys are usually used to navigate in dialog boxes. For example, pressing TAB usually moves focus to the next control. That prevents it from being assigned to a script.

Assigning scripts to these keys is not recommended!

If you would like to assign TAB to a script, follow these steps:

Choose Hot Key from the Options menu, check the Tab checkbox, and press ENTER.
Select a specific script and choose either Add Keystroke or Change Keystroke from the Action menu.
The Assign To: edit box is active in either the Add Keystroke or Change Keystroke dialog, press TAB, and ENTER.

::: {#messages-options}

Messages Options

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There is only one checkbox on the Messages page of the Options multi-page dialog. Check the Show notification messages when about to modify a file checkbox to have Keyboard Manager notify you before modifying a key map file.

::: {#file-filter-options}

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The File Filter page has three radio buttons that allow you to indicate which set of key map files JAWS should display in the eyboard Manager:

Active Files
User Files
Shared Files

When you select the Active Files radio button, all key map files currently in use are displayed. If both a shared and user version of the same key map file exist, only the user-specific file is displayed. When you select the User Files radio button, only those key map files found in your user settings folder are displayed. These keystrokes override those in the shared key map files. When you select the Shared Files radio button, only those key map files found in the shared settings folder are displayed.

The Keyboard Manager Exercises

The following exercises give you practice in using many of the functions of the Keyboard Manager. The objective of the exercise is listed first.

Finding a Keystroke

The objective of this exercise is to find a specific keystroke within the default key map file and view the corresponding script documentation.

Press JAWSKEY + F2 to display the Run JAWS Managers dialog.
Type K to select the Keyboard Manager option followed by ENTER. This action starts the Keyboard Manager.
Press JAWSKEY + UPARROW to read the current line. This is the current key map file. Did the selected key map file match the active application?
Press CONTROL + SHIFT + D to select the default key map file. The contents of the file are shown in the right hand pane of the Keyboard Manager.
Press TAB to move to the right hand pane of the manager. How many items does JAWS tell you are contained in the list?
Press CONTROL + F to activate the Find Keystroke dialog.
Press JAWSKEY + F12. JAWS speaks the keystroke after you press it as JAWSKEY + F12. The keystroke is also shown in the Search for Key edit box.
Press ENTER to begin the search. Did JAWS find the keystroke? Did JAWS read the script name, keystroke, key map file name and section? If you did not hear this information, press JAWSKEY + UPARROW to read the current line and repeat the information.
Press CONTROL + D to activate and display the Script Information dialog. Press TAB and SHIFT + TAB to move to and read the edit boxes contained in the dialog.
Press ESCAPE to close the dialog after you have reviewed the script information.

Adding a Keystroke

The objective of this exercise is to locate a specific keystroke in the default key map file and add a second keystroke to the script attached to that keystroke. If you already have the Keyboard Manager running, you can move to it by pressing ALT + TAB.

Press CONTROL + F to activate the Find Keystroke dialog.
Press JAWSKEY + F11. This is the keystroke for which we want to search. JAWS echoes the keystroke as you press it and JAWSKEY + F11 is placed in the Search for Key edit box.
Press ENTER to begin the search. When JAWS finds the keystroke, the information is selected and spoken automatically by JAWS.

If the keystroke was not found, then the Keystroke Not Found dialog is displayed.
Press CONTROL + A to activate the Add Keystroke dialog. The Assign To edit box is active.
Press CONTROL + F11. JAWS echoes the keystroke and CONTROL + F11 is placed in the Assign To edit box.
Press TAB to move to the Assign To X Keys Only check box where X represents the keyboard layout in use. If you are using the desktop layout then this is the Assign Key To Desktop Keys Only checkbox.
Press SPACEBAR to uncheck the Assign Keys to X check box.
Press ENTER to activate the Ok button in the Add Keystroke dialog. Since the default button is the Ok button, the dialog is closed. Next, the Confirm Add Keystroke dialog is displayed.
Press SPACEBAR to activate the Yes button. The Confirm Add Keystroke dialog is closed and you are returned to the Keyboard Manager.
Press JAWSKEY + UPARROW to read the current line. Did you hear the original keystroke information for JAWSKEY + F11 spoken by JAWS?
Press DOWN ARROW to move to the next entry in the list. Did you hear the new keystroke echoed by JAWS? If you want to repeat the information, press JAWSKEY + UPARROW to read the current line.

After you have completed the steps above, be sure to test both new and old keystrokes. Do they both work?

Additional Practice: Now that you have practiced removing keystrokes, try adding a completely new keystroke to a different JAWS function. Choose a function from the default key map file that you find useful, and assign it an additional keystroke using the process you learned in this exercise. Test both keystrokes to ensure they work correctly. Consider which additional keystroke would be most ergonomic for your keyboard layout and usage patterns.

Changing an Existing Keystroke

The objective of this exercise is to locate the keystroke we just added in the previous exercise and change it. You should still have the Keyboard Manager running with the default key map file open.

Press CONTROL + F to activate the Find Keystroke dialog. The focus is in the Search for Key edit box.
Press CONTROL + F11. This is the keystroke for which the search is carried out. JAWS speaks the keystroke and CONTROL + F11 is displayed in the Search for Key edit box.
Press ENTER to activate the Ok button. The find keystroke action is performed. When the keystroke is found, the keystroke information is spoken automatically by JAWS.
Press CONTROL + H to activate the Change Keystroke dialog. The Assign To edit box is active in this dialog.
Press SHIFT + F11. This is the new keystroke. JAWS echoes the keystroke and SHIFT + F11 is placed in the assign To edit box.
Press TAB to move to the Assign to X Keys Only check box, where X represents the keyboard layout in use. If you are using the desktop layout, then this check box is labeled as Assign to Desktop Keys Only.
Press SPACEBAR to uncheck the Assign to Desktop Keys Only checkbox.
Press ENTER to activate the Ok button. The Change Keystroke dialog closes. The Confirm Change Keystroke dialog box is then displayed and the Yes button is active.
Press SPACEBAR to activate the Yes button. The Confirm Change Keystroke dialog closes and you are returned to the Keyboard Manager.
Press JAWSKEY + UPARROW to read the current line. What keystroke information was spoken by JAWS?
Since the current keystroke entry is not the changed entry, press UP ARROW to move to the prior entry. Is this your new keystroke?

After you have followed the steps above, be sure to test both the old and new keystrokes. Do they both work as expected?

Removing a Keystroke

The objective of this exercise is to find the keystroke we changed in the previous exercise and remove it. This will leave only the original keystroke to list the items in the system tray.

Press CONTROL + F to activate the Find Keystroke dialog. The Search for key edit box is active.
Press SHIFT + F11. This is the keystroke for which the search is carried out. JAWS echoes the keystroke and SHIFT + F11 is placed in the Search for Key edit box.
Press ENTER to perform the Find Keystroke action. When the keystroke is found, the information is highlighted and spoken automatically by JAWS.
Press DELETE to remove the keystroke. The Remove Keystroke dialog is displayed and the Yes button is active.
Press SPACEBAR to activate the Yes button and close the Confirm Remove Keystroke dialog. The keystroke is removed from the default key map file.
Press JAWSKEY + UPARROW to read the current line. Is the SHIFT + F11 keystroke gone? Is the default keystroke, JAWSKEY + F11, the only keystroke displayed?

JAWS Scripting Language Manual